Food display package



Aug. 26, 1969 J. v. CLINE 3,463,305

fFooD DISPLAY PACKAGE Filed Dec. 11. 1967 2 sheets-sheet 1 FIG. 3

JACK V CLINE INVENTOR.

Aug. 26, 1969 J. v. CLINE 3,463,305

FOOD DISPLAY PACKAGE Filed Dec. l1, 196'? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. A5

FIG. 6

'all

FIG. 4

JACK V CLINE INVENTOR.

United States Patent O 3,463,305 FOOD DISPLAY PACKAGE .lack V. Cline, Hinsdale, lll., assigner to Tee-Pak, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Filed Dec. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 689,544 Int. Cl. B65d 77/00 U.S. Cl. 206-56 4 Claims ABSTRACT F TI-IE DISCLOSURE A food package is provided with features allowing for easy stacking and hanging under display conditions and providing additional surfaces for advertising indicia. The construction of the display package comprises a generally cylindrical longitudinally ribbed semi-rigid plastic film having a snap-on cover, a thin sealing film beneath the cover and an adjustable bottom plate for aiding in the removal of food product from the package. The package includes a removable apertured yback board secured in spaced peripheral ribs on the package and adapted to support the package above its center of gravity. The package is provided with a recessed bottom adapted to fit over the cover of an adjacent package for improved stacking.

Background of the invention This invention relates to a new and improved food display package. Although the package is capable of containing any desired product, it is especially useful for packaging pre-sliced meat p-roducts, such as bologna, sausages, sliced boiled ham, and the like. While the invention is applicable to a wide variety of products it is described hereinafter specifically in relation to the packaging of pre-sliced meat products and the like.

In modern packaging practices, it is common to package food products such as sliced meats in transparent containers made of flexible packaging films. When sliced meats are packaged for sale in small individual packages of flexible packaging films, it is important from the standpoint of display and salability that the package be designed for display in a substantially horizontal plane so as to provide an attractive, orderly display, permitting ready inspection of the package contents and also making it possible for a prospective purchaser to read the descriptive matter imprinted or secured thereon. The containers which have been previously made of highly flexible packaging films have lbeen generally prepared by a process of evacuation or gas ushing followed by heat sealing. Containers of this type have been distorted by the packaging technique with the result that the identifying or advertising material printed on the package is often somewhat distorted.

Recently, packages of semi-rigid plastic film materials have been developed and used extensively in the packaging of pre-sliced meat products. A number of such packages are in commercial use and well known in the prior art. Packages prepared of semi-rigid plastic lms require special techniques to manufacture and have generally not been designed with emphasis upon the characteristics required for ease of horizontal stacking or for hanging in vertical displays.

Statement of objects and features It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide a food package which affords maximum protection to the contents on displaying the same in an attractive and appealing manner, which will preserve the food against spoilage for a substantial period, which is readily opened to provide access to the contents, and which is easy to produce.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved package of transparent plastic which is constructed for yease in stacking and is provided with means for hanging Ivertically in merchandising displays.

A feature of this invention is to provide a new and improved display package characterized by a well designed, rigid, one-piece container, a transparent plastic top, a hermetic seal interposed between the container and top and the container having sufficient strength to withstand the usual handling and shipping operations.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of a display package having a recessed bottom adapted to t over the top of an adjacent package thus providing irnproved stacking characteristics.

Another feature of this invention is to provide an improved display package having a container portion provided wit-h a pair of peripheral beads positioned medially of the package and securing in place an apertured display board adapted to support the package in a vertical position in the plane of the center of gravity of the package.

Still another feature of this invention is the provision of a new and improved display package including an adjustable bottom for assisting in the removal of the product from the package.

Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.

Brief description of the drawing In the drawing:

FIG. l is a yview in side elevation of a display package for food products embodying a preferred form of this invention,

FIG. 2 is a view in cross section taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 4 showing only the bottom portion of the container,

FIG. 3 is a view in cross section of the bottom portion of the container, similar to the View shown in FIG. 2 but illustrating an alternate construction of the bottom wall,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the display package shown in FIG. l,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the container portion of the package shown in FIG. 1 with the display card and cover removed, and

FIG. 6 is a view in side elevation illustrating the use of the display card for hanging the display package vertically.

Summary of the invention A novel food display package comprises a generally cylindrical, longitudinally ribbed transparent plastic container having a pair of beads extending peripherally of the container. A removable apertured display board is attached medially of the container by being secured between said peripheral ribs. The display board is positioned to provide a `support for hanging the container vertically with the board extending through the center of gra-vity `of the package. 'Ihe package is provided with a thin sealing film and a -snap-on cover. A preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes an adjustable bottom in the container for facilitating removal of meat slices or other food prod-ucts therefrom. The configuration of the bottom of the container is such that each package may be stacked on and fit over the cover of an adjacent container.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference, and more particularly to FIGS. l, 2, 4, and 5 there is shown a food package generally designated 10 comprising a container portion which is generally cylindrical in shape and provided with longitudinally extending external ribs 12 generally formed integrally therewith in the molding of the container. Container 11 is provided with a pair of peripherally extending beads 14 and 16 on the exterior surface thereof. Beads 14 and 16 are positioned medially of the surface of container 11 and provide a groove for locating and securing a supporting display board 20. Display board 20 is provided with a central aperture 19 which is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of beads 14 and 16. The display board 20 is, therefore, snapped onto the container and fits into the groove between `beads 1-4 and 16. The outer end of display board 20 is provided with an aperture 1 8 for hanging the package in a vertical position, as will be subsequently described.

The open end of cylindrical container 11 is closed by a snap-on lid or cover 22 which is snapped into position over a peripheral bead 24 at the open end of the container. The container is provided with a hermetic seal in the form of a plastic sealing film 26 which is hermetically sealed around the opening. The sealing film 26 is preferably a material having low gas transmission such as Mylar polyester film, saran film, Pliofilm, or a plastic coated aluminum foil. The film which is used is not an essential feature of the invention but is preferably a material which may be heat sealed or adhesively sealed to close the package hermetically.

Snap-on cover 22 is provided with a rib 28 which encloses a clear viewing portion permitting one to view the required identifying data imprinted on the sealing film. Rib 28 on snap-on cover 22 also functions to provide improved stacking characteristics of the package as will be subsequently described.

The -bottom of container 11 may be a single fixed bottom 30, as shown in FIG. 3, or may be a movable bottom wall member 31, as shown in FIG. 2. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are identical except for the movable bottom wall member 31 in the embodiment of FIG. 2. The movable bottom wall member 31 may .be pushed upward for ease of removal of the slices of meat or other food products packaged in container 11. Bottom wall member 30, or movable wall member 31 each have an inwardly dished portion 29 providing a cup-shaped recess in the bottom of the package. The recess formed by dished portion 29 in the bottom of the package is of a size and shape which may be fitted over rib 28 on the snap-on cover 22. As a result, the assembled packages may be readily stacked with dished portion 29 lfitting over rib 28 on each successive cover. When the packages are stacked in this manner for merchandising, the display card 20 would normally be removed from each of the containers.

The display card 20 which is held in position by peripheral beads 14 and 16 on container 11 may contain advertising indicia or identifying legends 21. Display card 20 is secured on container 11 for the purposes of hanging the package on a supporting hook 33 as shown in FIG. 6. The display card 20 may be supported on hook 33 by means of aperture 18 and supports package 10 along a plane extending through the center of gravity of the film package. As a result, the package will hang in a vertical position below the point of support. If the display card 20 were positioned to either side of the center of gravity of the package, the package would tend to hang at an angle which would make the display and hanging of the package more difficult.

The manufacture of this display package may be carried out by conventional plastic molding techniques. The container 11 and snap-on cover 22 may be formed of any suitable plastic, either thermoplastic or thermosetting, which has the characteristics desired for food packaging. The container and lid may be formed by thermoforming of plastic sheet or by any conventional molding process, such as compression molding, transfer molding, injection molding, etc. It is also possible to form the container portion by extrusion and cementing a bottom into position. 'Ihe preferred technique for preparation of the container would be by thermoforming of sheet material although any of the several plastic molding techniques known in the art may be employed. The plastic material used in the container and lid is not critical and may be any suitable material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate-butyrate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate,

, SIC.

I claim:

1. A package for food products comprising a cylindrical container having a closed bottom and open top, said container having a peripheral bead around said open top, a snap-on cover fitting over said peripheral bead to close said top, said container and cover being formed of molded or thermo-formed plastic, said container having a plurality of longitudinally extending reinforced beads formed integrally thereon, said container having at least a pair of spaced beads extending peripherally of and defining a groove in the central portion of the outer surface thereof, said container having a bottom portion including a movable wall adjustable from outside to move the contents for ease of removal from said container, and a snap-on display board member fitted around the outer surface of said container in the groove defined by said perihpherally extending beads.

2. A package as defined in claim 1 in which said display board member has an aperture for hanging said package from a hook or rod and is positioned in a plane extending substantially through the center of gravity of the package when filled and hung vertically.

3. A package for food products comprising a cylindrical container having a closed bottom and open top, said container having a peripheral bead around said open top, a snap-on cover fitting over said peripheral bead to close said top, said container and cover being formed of molded or thermo-formed plastic, said container having a plurality of longitudinally extending reinforcing beads formed integrally thereon, said container having at least a pair of spaced beads extending peripherally of and defining a groove in the central portion of the outer surface thereof, and a snap-on display board member fitted around the outer surface of said container in the groove defined by said peripherally extending beads.

4. A package as defined in claim 3 in which said display board member has an aperture for hanging said package from a hook or rod and is positioned in a plane extending substantially through the center of gravity of the package when filled and hung vertically.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 423,833 4/ 1890 Stiveson 220-72 2,679,875 6/1954 Baldanza 150-.5 2,787,397 4/1957 Radford 220-72 X 2,859,085 ll/l958 Morrison 21S-l2 3,070,224 12/ 1962 Robinson et al.

3,388,827 6/1968 Thanhauser et al. 15G-.5 X 3,389,851 6/1968 Clark 150-.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 416,587 9/ 1934 Great Britain.

MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 206-79; 220-72 

